About Us - Permian Strategic Partnership

Learn more about what the PSP has accomplished in its first year, and how the PSP and its partners are working to fulfill its mission in communities across the Permian Basin.

Our Mission

To strengthen and improve the quality of life for Permian Basin residents by partnering with local leaders to develop and implement strategic plans that foster superior schools, safer roads, quality healthcare, affordable housing and a trained workforce. The companies involved with the PSP will bring people, expertise, resources and leadership to develop solutions in partnership with local leaders and communities.

Our Members

Permian Strategic Partnership

By the Numbers

expected impact by 2025

Tracee Bentley

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Tracee Bentley is the President and CEO of Permian Strategic Partnership, a collaboration between local communities and oil and gas companies operating in the Permian Basin.

Tracee’s extensive experience and leadership within the energy industry well-qualify her to lead this first of its kind partnership.

Before joining PSP as its first CEO, Bentley was the Executive Director of the Colorado Petroleum Council, a division of the American Petroleum Institute, which focuses on state and local policy and supporting the development of Colorado’s energy resources, including hydraulic fracturing and energy infrastructure.

Prior to joining the Colorado Petroleum Council in March 2015, Bentley served in several key policy positions including Legislative Director & Senior Advisor on Energy and Agriculture and Deputy Director of the Colorado Energy Office for Governor John Hickenlooper. Before Bentley’s tenure with the Hickenlooper administration, she was a founding Principal of a bi-partisan lobbying firm that focused on energy, natural resource, and agriculture interests. Tracee also served as the Director of National Affairs for the Colorado Farm Bureau where her portfolio included energy, immigration, farm policy, and international trade.

She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado State University and prior to receiving her bachelor’s, Bentley worked in Washington, DC for U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Tracee and her husband Mike have three children, twin daughters and a son. All three are currently enrolled in college.

Donald L. Evans

Chairman
Donald L. Evans was appointed as the 34th Secretary of the Commerce by President George W. Bush in 2001, where he served until 2005. He was a strong advocate for the free-enterprise system, free and fair trade agreements, and responsible corporate stewardship. To encourage job creation, Evans worked closely with President Bush to reduce taxes, open markets for American goods and services, and promote a level playing field abroad. A trusted friend and advisor for more than three decades, Evans worked on President Bush’s successful Texas gubernatorial campaigns in 1994 and 1998 and served as chairman of the 2000 Bush-Cheney Presidential Campaign.

Born in Houston, Texas, in 1946, Evans attended the University of Texas at Austin, receiving a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1969 and an M.B.A. in 1973. During school breaks, he worked in a Texas steel mill. In 1975, Evans moved to Midland, Texas from Houston and began his career as a “roughneck” working on oil rigs for Tom Brown, Inc., a large independent energy company. Ten years later, he took the helm of the company as CEO, continuing in that position until being tapped by the President to lead the Commerce Department. He also served as the Chairman of Energy Future Holdings Company, formerly TXU Energy, from 2007-2018, and currently he serves as Chairman of The Permian Strategic Partnership.

In 1995, Evans was appointed to the University of Texas Board of Regents; he was elected chairman in February 1997 and served two consecutive terms. Evans was also a board member of the Scleroderma Research Foundation for eight years. He was named a University of Texas Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 1997, and he was also inducted into the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame and named a University of Texas Distinguished Alumnus in 2002.

Currently, Evans serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Visitors at MD Anderson. Also, he is a senior partner at Quintana Capital Group and senior advisor at Energy Capital Partners. Evans has remained active in his hometown community of Midland, Texas where he resides with his wife, Susan Marinis Evans, and serves on the Midland Memorial Hospital Board of Governors. His passions in life are his faith, family, and friends. They have two daughters, one son, and five grandchildren.